Interesting.<p>He drives his Jeep, falls to a 4.3 rating and is about to get released from the service. He starts driving his Tesla, finds that passengers start treating him as an equal and give him a perfect 5.0 every time.<p>Somehow that's not at all surprising and disappointing at the same time.
So let's do the math. $21/hour for 7 hours, $150/day, gross.<p>I found some estimates online that a taxi driver might drive about 150 miles per day. Let's say 125 since this was sort of a short day. The IRS mileage allowance is 56 cents per mile - this is supposed to be an "all-in" number that includes all of the costs of owning and operating a vehicle. So that's $70/day for vehicle costs which the operator will have to pay - fuel, repairs, tires, whatever.<p>So we'll knock that $150 down to $80. So he's earning around $12/hour, before taxes, doing one of the more dangerous professions (cab driver is more dangerous than police officer, for example), and he's doing it completely uninsured - if he cracks up that Tesla during an Uber trip his insurer is not going to pay out on it. If the Tesla is stolen during an Uber trip his insurer is not going to pay out on it. If he has one accident, ever, he'll lose more than he could ever earn from a lifetime of working for Uber.<p>> 1. Never, ever try to call Uber with problems… because they don’t even have phones and there is very little if any reason to talk to them.<p>And Uber won't even pick up the phone to talk to drivers.
"it feels really productive to take my kids to school and get paid to drive home"<p>Drivers using Uber to fill free time or excess capacity is a radical shift away from how Uber started, with professional drivers using it to make a living. A friend of mine does this with Lyft. Imagine how many cars are on the road right now with only one driver and the rest of the seats empty. Lots of potential new drivers...
I'm curious about the no-remorse, humans-are-replacable ethos which is evident through the author's description of the recruitment process. I see this time and time again in stories about software startups, and it really gives me a queasy feeling. It does not make life at a startup company seem very inviting.
I wonder what happens when his Tesla gets t-boned by a pickup truck, they guy speeds off and he has to claim it on his insurance. His insurance finds out he's driving for Uber and then...
It sounds like Uber's business model is essentially in sidestepping the consumer protections that exist for conventional private driver and taxi companies. It reminds me of how credit card companies and PayPal sidestep consumer protections created for banks.
This is the kind of guy you want to be your CEO. Someone who doesn't spend their time shopping for the best suit or glad handing unnecessarily.<p>For those in the hunt for a CEO, take note here. Curiosity, exploration, not afraid to get dirty, a desire to understand and learn. Well done.
>What happened when Boloco founder John Pepper became an Uber driver<p>This kind of article title is really starting to piss me off. Especially for this particular article where nothing "happened". It's just a QA with a new driver.